Investissement

Le marché belge des fonds a enregistré une baisse de 8,5 % au cours du deuxième trimestre 2022 en raison de corrections des actifs sous-jacents, pour atteindre 241 milliards d’euros d’actifs commercialisés.

C’est ce qui a été révélé lors d’une conférence de presse en ligne organisée par la Beama, l’association belge des gestionnaires d’actifs, qui était animée par Marc Van de Gucht, directeur général de la Beama, et Johan Lema, président du groupe d’intérêt. 

La plate-forme de distribution du groupe Amundi devrait accueillir CACEIS parmi ses actionnaires, en vue d’accélérer la croissance de son activité. 

The EU’s top category of sustainable investment funds - impact funds as defined under SFDR Article 9 - saw inflows double in the third quarter compared to the second, while funds that are considered mostly sustainable, or Article 8 ESG funds, continued to bleed, research insights by Morningstar show. The analysis also shows that more than 380 funds were reclassified during the third quarter.

By agreeing a format that aims to channel more funds towards small and medium-sized companies, the European Union has reached a political agreement that brings the relaunch of European long-term investment funds, a type of investment vehicle known as Eltif, one step closer.

À l’aune de leur performance en dollar, les fonds ciblant les obligations des marchés émergents ont terminé dans le rouge pour le troisième trimestre de suite. En euro toutefois, ils ont légèrement progressé. 

The future has never been more uncertain, and that has more to do with the climate than the business cycle, argues Paul De Grauwe, one of Belgium’s top economists. “Not inflation, but climate is the biggest challenge we face today,” he said. “The entire market system could perish.”

Corporate profits will not fall even if economic growth declines, because of inflation. That is the thinking many investors have when it comes to expected earnings growth for the next 12 months, which is still positive. But I think we are now past the stage where profits are still driven by inflation.

Asset services provider Apex Group has announced a collaboration with BlackRock’s eFront to provide its ESG data consulting services to investors in private markets.

The big difference between bonds and equities is that cash flows in bonds are fixed in advance. It makes inflation the great enemy of bonds. With equities, the effect of inflation is more complex. Companies that raise prices often realise higher sales as a result. But with a lag, inflation, in the form of rising wages and rising interest rates, creates margin pressure, as do rising energy prices.

The EU’s sustainable finance framework is widely recognised as immensely complex. For private equity firms, it’s even more so, especially now that more and more investors demand that their investments are made in funds with sustainable assets.